Standing in front of the entire leadership team at the front of the room where Aaron and Cadence normally sat was more than a little intimidating for me. Even though Elliott was right in front of me, and Jamie was to my side, I still felt nervous. Hannah and Aurora looked friendly enough, as if they were glad that I was there to talk about my findings. Christian’s expression was a mix between loathing and boredom I’d rather not dissect.
I had all of my facts straight. I’d gathered all of the numbers. I knew exactly what we were up against—or at least I thought I did. And yet, standing there in front of them with my stack of papers, I felt like a middle school girl presenting at the science fair.
Words were coming out of my mouth, though. Numbers. Cases I’d discovered. I mentioned Havel’s poor wife and the newspaper. I told them about some others that were gone. I mentioned that I’d used Christian’s methods to verify all of this, which got a slight nod out of him. For the most part, no one’s expression changed for the entire length of my almost-ten-minute presentation. Elliott was leaning so far back in his chair, though, at one point, I thought I might have to catch him if he fell. Or maybe I’d just let him hit the ground for not being a little bit more noddy while I was speaking.
It was almost impossible for me to read them, so I finally decided I’d said enough, thrown enough numbers at them. They had to understand the importance of this. I finally concluded, “With the recent disappearances in Budapest, that brings the total number of missing persons cases in Europe over the past week to four hundred fifty-two. That’s significant.” I held Hannah’s eyes for a minute until she blinked. She had to know that was significant... “Even when Holland was attacking us in DC and England, she didn’t turn that many people,” I pointed out.
Hannah shrugged. “She didn’t have time to.”
I wasn’t sure how that had anything to do with my point. “I agree. So why are we giving Daunator all of the time in the world?” I hoped my question sounded provocative and not argumentative.
No one answered me. They all looked at each other for a second, like they thought maybe someone else should be the one to answer my question. Inside, I felt my stomach tie up a little bit as I realized this wasn’t working. Either I hadn’t presented the information in a way that made them understand the urgency, or they just didn’t get why it was important that we move forward and stop this epidemic before it was too late.
Jamie must’ve drawn the short straw because he is the one that finally addressed me. I wondered how much research he’d done himself since I’d spoken to him about this the day before. I was praying, when his mouth opened, that it would be to support my insistence that we go in right away and not wait for the Leaders.
That’s not what he said, though. “Cass, while I agree the numbers are staggering, there isn’t much we can do that we aren’t already doing. We’ve sent reinforcements to the area. Mila is doing her best to follow up with each case. So far, many of the people who’ve gone missing are not of the sort it would be illegal to change.”
I couldn’t really believe what I was hearing. Something about his disposition had to have shifted since the last time we spoke. “Maybe not illegal but problematic,” I pointed out. “Even if they are members of the underbelly and perfectly legal to consume, changing them without having them come in for proper tagging and instruction is still against the rules.”
Jamie was nodding along while I was speaking, as if he knew exactly what I was going to say and already had a rebuttal. “True. But they have up to a month to come in, and by your own numbers, it hasn’t been long enough.” He shrugged at me, though his eyes were sympathetic when he smiled in my direction. I had the feeling he wanted to help me out, that he knew how important this was to me, but that his hands were tied. He probably decided the “No, we aren’t going” would sit with me better if it came from him, especially since he’s the one that got me the meeting in the first place. It didn’t make me feel any better.
I looked at Elliott, expecting him to say something, to take my side. He just sat there with his chair teetering on the edge of its legs, not even looking at me.
Aurora’s voice brought my head spinning in her direction. “I’m sure Cadence and Aaron will be right on it when they get back.” Her smile was wide, but that tinge of sympathy I’d seen in Jamie’s expression was there as well. Everyone wanted to help me, but no one wanted to actually do the thing I thought we should do.
The Hunter currently in charge continued, “I’m reluctant to do anything more than what I already have without Cadence’s blessing. I’ve strengthened the Hunters in the area. They’re making nightly searches in several cities. Until we have more to go off of, our hands are tied.”
That was a cop out. There was plenty more she could do. If I were in charge.... I didn’t finish the thought because it was pointless. Obviously, I wasn’t in charge. I sat down in the seat I’d occupied next to Jamie before it was my turn to speak. My hands were balls of frustration. I needed to get control of my emotions before I either made another hole in a table or started crying, and I didn’t care to do either.
It felt like everyone was waiting on me to respond, but I couldn’t. So, again, I threw out a lifeline to my closest ally in the room, or so I thought. This time, Elliott seemed to understand that I needed him to speak. “Aw, heck, Cass. I don’t know. It seems unreasonable to just pour everything we’ve got into a place we aren’t quite sure needs it. Is this Daunator’s work? Maybe. But my understanding is he could take all of us out with one blast from his halitosis. Why would he need all of them?”
The question was a valid one, but I was so angry at him poking fun at my concerns—and trying to poke holes in my research—my only answer was, “To kill us.”